Page 25 of Rivers and Roads

“I won’t make it back out,” he’d said, “but if our intelligence is right, and they have that monster’s son in there with him waiting to escape, then it’s worth it.”

I hated myself for letting him go, even when Kor returned with Misha. Even if his sacrifice meant that I could be here now, with Zane just outside of my grasp.

I was determined not to let his death be in vain. My hands trembled as I went for the lock, and it only took a strong pull to twist the metal off. I wasn’t sure if I was getting stronger, or if the adrenaline was fueling me, but I felt more like myself and more desperate than ever as I made my way down the dark hall. It was silent as the grave, and I wasn’t sure how I had gone unnoticed by now, but I was going to take advantage of it while I had the chance.

A few steps in, and I heard the sound of chains behind a door. I felt sick all over again when I realized it was likely Zane. I couldn’t sense him, couldn’t scent him, but somehow, I knew. The door opened easily under my hand, and though it was dim, I could see a Wolf crouched in the middle of the room.

“By the gods,” I breathed, holding my hand over my nose.

The stench was overwhelming. He was covered in his own filth, his hair unkempt and falling around his face. He was chained on all fours, his head low, neck weighted by a heavy collar, and I felt rage in me like I had never experienced before.

Is this what they’d done to Bryn until he broke far enough to become their attack dog? Is this what they’d done to all the other Wolves they took?

I wanted to burn the place down, and if I didn’t get Zane out soon, I would. I managed the locks on his feet, and he flexed as I went for his hands. Claws shot out at me, but I let him gouge at my skin as I worked the collar off his neck, and I only had time to breathe out a sigh of triumph before I was pinned to the floor.

He was foul, the air in his lungs carrying the scent of decay. His eyes flashed yellow, but I wasn’t sure he could see me. He didn’t look like Kor—I didn’t think he was blind—but I didn’t think he was himself.

His nostrils flared, and drool hit my cheek from his bared teeth. I could feel myself bleeding under his claws, but he didn’t strike a killing blow. He simply pinned me there, breathing me in.

“It’s me,” I finally said. He let out a warning growl, but I kept talking. “It’s Orion. Zane…we have to go. I need you to trust me. Please. I…”

There was a shout down the hall, and the sound of footsteps. Before I could do anything about it, Zane hauled me up and shoved me behind him, his claws out and ready. Three men in fatigues came around the corner, but before they could even think about firing a weapon, Zane was on them. He tore their throats out without remorse, licking the blood from his palms as their bodies hit the ground, then he turned and stared at me.

He was a monster. The humans had turned him into the thing they feared most. I held my breath in my lungs, waiting to see if he thought I was a threat.

There were more shouts down the hall, and he let out a deep growl, his body tensing to leap, but I managed to catch him by his hair and haul him back. “We don’t have time,” I hissed, begging him to understand. “We need to escape. We can’t kill them all.”

He fought me for a moment, but when I put my arm under his hand, he gripped it. I tugged him toward the door, and when I burst out, Zane’s heels dug in, and he yanked me back to a stop. I opened my mouth to argue, but I saw then he had his gaze fixed on Bryn’s body.

There was a single pause, then a howl rose from his chest. It was quiet and hoarse, but full of all the pain I had been feeling when I felt Bryn’s heart began to slow. I could only allow him a moment, though. The guards were already on alert, and we had minutes before they followed our trail.

“We have to leave him,” I said. I took his arm again, and I said a prayer of thanks to the gods that he began to run. We made our way to the break in the fence, and he was close at my heels as we bobbed and weaved through the trees.

It almost seemed too easy—I might have thought it was a trap, but I heard the alarm sound just as the car came into view.

Zane put up a short fight when I opened the door, but after meeting his gaze, he ducked his head and fell against the back seat. I had only a jacket to cover him with, but he accepted it as I slammed the door and climbed behind the wheel.

I drove out of there like the devil was on my heels, and I didn’t breathe fully until we’d been on the road, at least ten miles between us and the compound. There were no cars, no lights, no nothing.

Somehow, we’d managed an escape.

I was too terrified to feel triumphant, but I glanced in the mirror and saw Zane hunkered down, almost sullen. He was still half-shifted, his fangs protruding over his lip, and he met my gaze in the mirror. He frowned, almost like he was confused, but I didn’t think he was capable of speech.

“We need to get you clean, and then we need to get the fuck out of this country,” I said. I wasn’t convinced he understood me, but he settled back in the seat, and it was just enough to allow me to focus on the road.

Chapter

Twelve

ORION

An hour in, I found an old gas station right off the freeway. It was closed and locked up, the lights off. I couldn’t see an alarm anywhere, though, and when I busted the window on the back door, nothing happened. Zane stood behind me in a half-crouch, his nostrils flaring like he was trying to scent trouble.

It was unsettling to see him like this, and it made me want to drive back to the compound and claw the skin from the bones of any human who had ever laid a hand on him. I wasn’t sure what they had done, and a small part of me was petrified that there was no coming back from this.

Was this what Danyal had been terrified of? Was this what Kor wanted the rehab facility for? A long-term care unit for the Wolves who could never fully come back from the labs.

My fingers trembled as I led Zane in through the little storage closet, and I glanced around a second time for cameras, but the place looked ancient. I was pretty sure most of the food was long-past the expiry date, but all I really needed was a place to wash him and a couple of non-perishables for the road.

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